New Neurohospitalist and Sports Sections Established

November 10, 2009

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The Academy has established two new sections, focusing on Sports Neurology and Neurohospitalists. Each will provide a forum for members involved with or interested in learning more about special topics within neurology.

Neurohospitalist Section

Neurohospitalists are considered to be hospital-based neurology specialists who dedicate at least a quarter of their time to caring for inpatients. The new section focuses on fostering improvements in inpatient neurologic care and providing a community for neurology inpatient subspecialists to identify themselves and grow. The section will also help develop future educational initiatives.

"The demand for timely neurological evaluation and intervention has dramatically increased over time," said Section Chair David J. Likosky, MD, FHM. "In addition, financial pressures such as direct reimbursement and perceived medico-legal risk have made it difficult for many neurologists to maintain both an inpatient and outpatient practice."

Sports Neurology Section

The Sports Neurology Section is chaired by Jeffrey S. Kutcher, MD, MPH, director of the University of Michigan's Neurosport program. "There is a tremendous amount of neurology in the athletic training rooms and sports medicine clinics the world over," said Kutcher. "There are unique challenges that come with caring for competitive athletes, requiring a clinical approach that differs from anything we're traditionally taught in our neurology training programs."

The section's objectives include:

Providing a platform for scientific discussion about sports neurology topics

Increasing the level of involvement of the field of neurology in neurological sports medicine issues

Advocating for athletes with neurologic diagnoses by helping to increase and improve clinical care, research, and education efforts

Providing the AAN and its members a mechanism to stay up-to- date on evolving sports neurology topics

Developing and promoting the field of sports neurology by supporting efforts such as national referral networks, publications, and post-residency training programs